(Radio Iowa) – The Libertarian Party’s candidate for president says the federal government’s deficit spending is a hidden tax. Chase Oliver — making his fifth trip to Iowa — is promising to veto any budget that isn’t balanced if he’s elected president. “Every single day, $8.9 billion is being added to the deficit,” Oliver said. “That is going to affect our kids and our grandkids and the cost of living here on out.” The Libertarian Party’s platform calls for significantly reducing the scope of the federal government by getting rid of regulations and cutting spending. “Inflation is a hidden tax…because the government is making our worth dollars less and less and less each year because they run deficit spending to the tune of trillions of dollars and they have to print money to make up for that,” Oliver says, “and what that does is it devalues the money you have in your pocket.”

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Chase Oliver spoke to reporters in Iowa on August 10, 2024. (RI photo)

Oliver won the Libertarian Party’s 2024 presidential nomination nearly three months ago. He says the two major political parties treat voters like dupes and have created a centrally planned economy that benefits corporations. “An abusive, an intrusive and overly large government that continues to rob us of the value of our dollar, that continues to insert itself into our business and our property and and over and over again we do not have advocates either in Des Moines or Washington, D.C. who fight for us,” Oliver says. “They fight for the people who line their pockets.”

Oliver, who says he is the first presidential candidate to have visited all 50 states this year, filed the paperwork to get his name on the Iowa ballot last Wednesday. “You should not have to sacrifice your vote to say: ‘Oh, well, I’m going to vote for the lesser of two evils,'” Oliver said. “Dare to pick the best choice on your ballot. Compare my platform to that of Kamala Harris or Donald Trump or RFK, Jr. or any other challenger.”

Oliver made his comments at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cited security concerns and cancelled his appearance at the venue.